Your loan, step by step.
Math you can check.

Choose financing uses, enter project costs and your down payment, review the numbers, then calculate a blended term and upfront SBA guaranty fee.

Project costs and loan amount

Enter full project costs before equity. Count each dollar once: amounts allocated to real estate, equipment, or working capital should not also appear in the business acquisition amount. Include acquisition soft costs in the business acquisition allocation when applicable. The estimated loan equals the total entered costs less your down payment or other equity. The upfront SBA fee is shown separately and is not added to the loan.

How the blended term is calculated

Multiply each use amount by its assigned years, add those weighted amounts, then divide by total project costs. The result is an estimated term for the entered costs, subject to the following distinct rules.

When a business acquisition is included

SOP 50 10 8.1, Appendix 15 B.1.a.i.b, printed page 372, requires a weighted maturity calculated before equity and rounded to the nearest full year. Eligible real estate purchase receives up to 25 years. All other uses, including working capital and soft costs, receive a 10-year allocation. The calculator follows that acquisition rule even if working capital is selected.

For example, $500,000 of real estate plus $500,000 of business acquisition produces (500,000 × 25 + 500,000 × 10) ÷ 1,000,000 = 17.5 years, rounded to 18 years. A $100,000 down payment reduces the estimated loan to $900,000 but does not change that acquisition term calculation. This does not determine required equity or loan eligibility.

When no business acquisition is included

Appendix 17 A.5, printed page 391, allows a mixed-use blended maturity. This calculator uses 25 years for eligible non-farm real estate, 10 years for equipment assumed to have at least 10 years of remaining useful life, and a 7-year working-capital planning assumption. SBA generally allows up to 10 years for working capital. Equity is assumed to be allocated proportionately among uses; actual allocation can change the blended term.

The non-acquisition result rounds down to a whole month. That rounding is this calculator’s conservative planning convention, not a separately stated SBA rounding requirement.

Exceptions your lender must evaluate

For non-acquisition loans, Appendix 17 A.5 also permits up to 25 years when at least 51% of proceeds fund eligible real estate. This tool displays the blended option. The 51% shortcut does not apply to change-of-ownership loans. The narrow special-purpose acquisition exception in Appendix 15 has a separate 85% total-project-cost test and additional property/business conditions; it is not applied automatically here.

Equipment life, farming enterprises, lease terms, construction and installation periods, omitted project costs, and special-purpose properties can change the allowed maturity. Farm real estate may have a 20-year cap. The 25-year assumption is for eligible non-farm property, not a universal real-estate entitlement. The lender must confirm actual uses, repayment ability, useful life, and the final approved term.

How the fee is calculated

1. Use the current verified approval fiscal year. A new unverified year stops the fee estimate.
2. Subtract equity from total project costs to find the estimated loan amount. The maximum supported loan is $5 million.
3. For one standalone Standard / Small 7(a) loan, calculate 85% guaranteed at $150,000 or less, and 75% above $150,000.
4. Apply any selected qualifying fee waiver, including its amount limit and business conditions.
5. Otherwise, select the fee tier from total loan amount and term, then apply the fee rate to guaranteed dollars. For loans over $700,000, use 3.5% on the first $1 million guaranteed and 3.75% on the remainder.
6. Round the final fee to cents. It is shown separately from the loan amount.

All term assumptions in this flow exceed 12 months, so they use the long-term fee schedule. Changing a 10-year estimate to 25 years does not itself change that fee rate.

Cases that need lender review

Another SBA loan for the business or its affiliates can change the guarantee or fee. Selecting recent approvals or older outstanding loans stops the standalone estimate. Unsupported years, invalid amounts, and incomplete waiver eligibility also stop the fee estimate. This flow does not calculate SBA Express, Export Express, 504, WCP, EWCP, International Trade, MARC, renewals, or loan increases.

Verification

Automated checks cover fee boundaries and waivers, project totals, equity, acquisition-specific allocations and rounding, ordinary blended terms, invalid inputs, and loan limits. Browser checks cover selecting multiple uses, entering and editing amounts, review-before-calculation, and results. These checks are not SBA certification or endorsement.

Official sources

1. SBA Information Notice 5000-881797: FY2027 7(a) Program Fees. Effective October 1, 2026. Upfront rates and waivers: pages 1–2. Food-supply-chain codes and limited trucking activities: page 1 and footnote.
2. SBA Information Notice 5000-872051: FY2026 7(a) Fees. Effective October 1, 2025. Standard fee rates, manufacturing waiver, and special programs.
3. SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, with technical updates. Effective October 1, 2026. Guaranty percentages, loan terms, fee financing, 90-day aggregation, veteran-owned SBA Express eligibility, and Appendix 3 rural definition.
4. SBA: Types of 7(a) loans. Program limits and guaranty percentages.

The SBA’s downloadable calculator is labeled FY2026. Published notices and the applicable SOP take priority over spreadsheet inconsistencies.